Jointure for prefabricated structures



March 1954 A. J. FITZGERALD JOINTURE FOR PREFABRICATED STRUCTURES Filed NOV. 16, 1951 a w 6% 3% n o P. a 0 nfnm w A ME m m H A Patented Mar. 23, 1954 JOINTURE FOR PREFABRICATED STRUCTURES Albert J. Fitzgerald, Syracuse, N.

Y., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application November 16, 1951, Serial No. 256,682

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a jointure between members of a prefabricated structure. More particularly, it has to do with such jointures in decorative grillwork structures of the type commonly used in radio and television sets.

This invention is a continuation-in-part of copending application bearing Serial No. 167,817, filed June 13, 1950, now Patent No. 2,577,119 dated December l, 1951, and assigned. to the same assignee as the present invention.

If the manufacturing cost of making a decorative grillwork is to be maintained at a minimum, the component parts should be finished and polished before assembly. The polished members, however, usually are of such a material that any application'of heat would tarnish them to the extent that they would lose their decorative value; consequently soldering and welding techniques are not available for assembly.

In making such jointures, it is also necessary to consider the vibrational problems caused by a loud-speaker in a radio or television set. That is, if the decorative grillwork were loosely assembled, it would be quite possible for vibrations emanating from a loud-speaker to set up a sympathetic vibration in the grillwork which would produce a rattling noise that would detract from the sound qualities of the radio or television set.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved jointure which may component of an ornamental grill design.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a decorative grillwork having a jointure which is economical to construct and to assemble.

It is a still further object of my invention to provide a decorative grill jointure which is capable of securely holding together several component members in a manner which prevents rattling vibrations.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent and the invention will be more clearly understood from the following description referring to the accompanying drawing, and the features of novelty will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification.

Briefly, this invention comprisesan interlocking assembly of radially extending members and an open cup-like cylinder wherein the members and the cup are combined with a pair or washers to prevent movement of the members relative to the cylinder.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the decorative grill illustrating thi improved invention; Fig. 2 is a top view, partly out form a decorative away, of an assembled jointure in the decorative grill; Fig. 3 is an end view, partly in section, taken along plane a-a of Fig. 2 in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 4 illustrates some of the components of the jointure during assembly; Fig. 5 is an exploded view showing all the component parts of the jointure; while Fig. 6 is an assembled view of the jointure just before the top washer has been wedged into position.

Referring to the drawing, a radio or television grill l is shown comprising a frame 2 defining an opening 3 closed primarily by a suitable woven material (not shown) and including a decorative grillwork 4 which comprises a plurality of members t interconnected by jointures 6.

While th jointure 6 need not be limited. to any particular angle or number of members 5, an illustrative embodiment, which has been chosen to point out more clearly the features of this invention, has four members extending radially from a jointure in such a manner that the members are spaced substantially 90 apart.

The component parts of this jointure preferably are made from some of the less expensive metals which may be bent and formed into a desired shape. One of these metals, for example, is C. R. steel, brass plated. Metals of this caliber, whil being inexpensive and while being compatible with a highly decorative finish, cannot be subjected to heat, or else they will rapidly lose their finish through oxidation.

In the embodiment shown, each of the members 5 comprises a bar having any suitable cross section and a length commensurate with its intended use; for example, it might have a width of e and a depth of and a length of about 0". At the radially inner end of member 5, a notch l is cut to provide an upstanding finger or protrusion 8 which serves the purpose of acting as a stop to limit the radially outward movement of the members 5. Notch 1 defines a second stop or shoulder 9 which functions to limit the radially inward motion of the members 5. A cylinder It having a closed decorative end II is employed to serve as a housing for the radially inward ends of members 5. To perform this function, a plurality of slots 12 are peripherally spaced about the cylinder l0 (90 apart in the example). The slots i2 are positioned to lie in one plan transverse to the axis of the cylinder and to have dimensions that permit protrusion 8 of the member 5 to be passed through the slot, while shoulder 9 cannot be passed through it.

1 Ideally, a plug 13 made of a resilient material; such as wood, cork or rubber, is inserted'in meta:

position with the closed end of the cylinder to lie beneath the radially inner ends of the members 5 and in contact therewith. Fig. 4 shows this structure with members 5 having been inserted into cylinder l0. conceivably, plug is could be slotted to receive the inner ends of members 5 to aid in limiting their transverse motion.

To lock members 5 securely into engagement with cylinder in and plug it, a pair of cooperating washers l4 and I 5 are employed. Washer 14 has an outer diameter less than the inner diameter of cylinder It, and it has a central bore I5 which may or may not include notches N that register with upstanding fingers 8 on the. inner ends of members 5. That is, notches I? or central bore I6 fit over the protrusions and restrain them against radially outward motion.

While shoulder 9 on member 5 does cooperate radially inward movement of the members 5, manufacturing tolerances could not be held close enough to insure a tight fit under all circumstances. Consequently, washer IB is employed to serve the dual function of compensating for manufacturing tolerances in the members 5 and cylinder it, and also of acting as a wedge to axially press the members into a locking engagement. Washer l5 has an internal bore l8 of a diameter slightly larger than that of the notches I or bore l 6, and it has an outer diameter which is slightly larger than the inner diameter of cylinder H). To facilitate insertion of washer l5 into cylinder iii, it is deflected downwardly about one diameter to provide extending halves which can fit into cylinder Ill, as shown in Fig. 6.

After the component parts have been thus assembled, a press or punch (not shown) is used to wedge washer l5 into cylinder ll), as shown in Fig. 3. In being wedged into place, the washer to punches against the outer walls of cylinder m to force them into contact with shoulders 9, thereby tending to push members 5 radially outward. This radially outward movement, on the other hand, is opposed by notches I! or bore l6 engaging fingers 8. This structure provides a secure interrelation of the cooperating parts to lock the elements of jointure 6 relative to one another. Furthermore, when washer i5 is wedged axially'down into cylinder In, the washer l5 forces the inner ends of members 5 into engagement with plug I3 to aid in providing a rigid jointure which willnot permit noisy relative movement of the parts.

Modifications of this invention will occur to those skilled in the art, and it is desired to be understood that this invention is not to be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed but that it is intended to cover all modifications which are within the true spirit and scope of this invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. The combination, in a jointure of members in a prefabricated structure, of a cylinder having a closed end, said members projecting through slots in the wall of said cylinder and parallel with the axis of said cylinder, each member having a shoulder bearing against the outer surface of said cylinder to limit the radially inward movement of said members, each member also having a finger within said cylinder, said fingers being disposed opposite from said closed end, a washer having a central bore against which said fingers bear to limit the radially outward movement of said members thereof, a stressed member bearing against theinner surface of said cylinder for apit must be realized that 2. The combination, in a prefabricated structure, of a cylinder having a closed end with a plurality of slots in the cylindrical wall thereof, a plurality of radially extending members each projecting through respective ones of said slots and parallelwise disposed with respect to the axis of said cylinder, a resilient plug positioned in the bottom of said cylinder to engage the bottom surface of said members, each member having a shoulder bearing against the outer surface of said cylinder to limit the radially inward movement of said members, each member also having a finger within said cylinder, said fingers being disposed opposite from said closed end, a washer having a central bore against which said fingers bear to limit the radially outward movement of said members, a stressed member bearing against the inner surface of said cylinder and axially of the periphery thereof and also for applying force downward on said washer whereby the outer surface of said cylinder is caused to bear tightly against each of said shoulders and said fingers are caused to bear tightly against the edge of said central bore and said washer is caused to press said members against said resilient member, thereby to provide a jointure in which the elements thereof are in tight fitting relationship.

3. The combination, in a prefabricated structure, of a cylinder having a closed end with a plurality of slots in the cylindrical wall thereof, a plurality of radially extending members each projecting through respective ones of said slots and substantially parallel with the axis of said cylinder, each member having a shoulder bearing against the outer surface of said cylinder to limit the radially inward opposite from said closed end, a washer having notches engaging with said upwardly extending fingers to prevent radially outward motion thereof, a stressed member bearing against the inner surface of said cylinder for applying force to the inner surface of said cylinder along the periphery thereof, whereby the outer surface of said cylinder is caused to bear tightly against each of said shoulders and said fingers are caused to bear tightly against the edge of said central bore, thereby to provide a jointure in which the elements thereof arein tight fitting relationship.

i. The combination, in a jointure of members in a prefabricated structure, of a cylinder having a closed end, said members projecting through slots in a wall of said cylinder and parallel with the axis of said cylinder, each of said members having a cut-away portion at its jointure end to permit insertion through said slots and. to provide upstanding fingers at said jointure end, each of said cut-away portions further defining a shoulder engaging with the outer wall of said cylinder to prevent radially inward movement of said member, a washer having a central bore within which said fingers are contained and against which "said fingers bear to limitthe ra-' dially outward movement of said members, a stressed member bearing against the inner surface of said cylinder for applying force to the inner surface of said cylinder along the periphery thereof, whereby the outer surface of cylinder is caused to bear tightly against each of said shoulders and said fingers are caused to bear tightly against the edge of said central bore, thereby to provide jointure in which the el ments thereof are in tightly fitting relationship.

5. The combination, in a prefabricated structure, of a cylinder having a closed end with a plurality of slots in the cylindrical wall thereof, a plurality of radially extending members each projecting through respective ones of said slots and substantially parallel with the axis of said cylinder, of said members having acutaway portion at its jointure end to permit in sertion through said slots and to provide upstanding fingers at s d jointure end, each of said cut-away portions -urther defining a shoul' dei' engaging with the outer wall of said cylinder to prevent radially inward motion of said members, a washer having a central bore within which said fingers are contained and against which said fingers bear to limit the radially outward movement thereof, another washer having an internal bore such that said second washer fits freely over said upwardly extending fingers and having an outer diameter slightly larger than the internal diameter of said cylinder, said other washer being stressed into fitting relationship with the inner surface of said cylinder, whereby said cylindrical wall is pushed against said shoulders and said fingers are in engagement with the central bore thereby providing a jointure in which the elements thereof are in tight fitting relationship.

6. The combination, in a prefabricated structure, of a cylinder having a closed end with a plurality of slots in the cylindrical wall thereof, a plurality of radially extending members each ing through respective ones of said slots and substantially parallel with the axis of said cylinder, each of said members having a cutaway portion at its jointure end. to permit insertion through said slots, and to provide upstanding fingers at said iointure end, each of said cut-away portions further defining a shoulder engaging with the outer wall of said cylinder to prevent radially inward motion of respeotive ones of members, a washer having a central here within which said fingers are contained and against which said fingers bear to limit the radially outward movement of said members, another washer having an internal bore such that said second washer fits freely over said upwardly extending fingers and having an outer diameter slightly larger than the internal diameter of said cylinder, said other Washer further having a bend about one diameter to facilitate its ready insertion into said cylinder, said other washer being unbended within said cylinder whereby the outer periphery thereof pushes said cylinder wall against said shoulders said fingers in engagement with the central bore thereby providing a jointure in which the elements thereof are in tight fitting relationship.

ALBERT J. FITZGERALD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 391,353 Bryant Oct. 16, 1888 2,577,119 Fitzgerald Dec. 4, 1951 

